Hardware in the loop simulation of a dielectric elastomer generator for oscillating water column wave energy converters

This paper presents a small-scale test-bench that can be employed for the study of a new class of Oscillating Water Column (OWC) Wave Energy Converters (WECs) with Power Take Off (PTO) unit based on Dielectric Elastomer Generators (DEGs). Such a test-bench is designed to perform Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) simulations of a small-scale DEG PTO prototype, that includes dedicated power and control electronics, with a real-time model that emulates OWC plant hydrodynamics. The paper illustrates the theoretical model that is assumed to describe the dynamics of the OWC plant, the hardware employed to replicate the response of the DEG PTO and the algorithms for the implementation of the closed-loop controller that performs the HIL simulations. Some preliminary tests are reported considering a floating OWC collector and a simple energy-harvesting control law for the DEG PTO that is based on the measurement of the water level into the OWC structure.